The rain patters on the church roof above us as the judge brings his gavel down violently on the table. bloody bathory

“Enough!” he roars, interrupting the crowd roaring for Countess Elizabeth Bathory to be brought to justice for the torture and murder of several servant girls. “You are all dismissed.”

The voices around me cry out even louder than before. A ghostly woman dressed in white wails above the cacophony over and over, “What about our children? What about our children?”

As the lights begin to flicker and the villagers file out of the courtroom, twitching grotesquely, I know that I must uncover the dark secrets of Bathory’s castle before it is too late.

Located in Chicago, IL, The Barrens Theatre Co.‘s Bloody Bathory invites guests into an immersive sandbox, placing them in the roles of jury members who must determine the fate of Elizabeth Bathory. Inspired by the historical accounts of the real-life Countess and the hundreds of murders attributed to her, the story unfolds over the course of one night in Bathory’s castle, interspliced with courtroom scenes as the evidence piles up against the increasingly distraught defendant. Guests will witness the mystery unfold by following one of seventeen different characters throughout the castle, before coming together as the jury in the final scene to make the difficult decision: Innocent or guilty? It is up to the audience to decide. Bloody Bathory does contain minimal physical contact with actors that guests may encounter, but contact is always preceded with a verbal request for the guest’s consent.

As the night progresses and the inhabitants of the Bathory castle reveal their secrets, it becomes clear that writer Millie Rose had more on her mind than telling a spooky whodunit tale. Bloody Bathory probes at the relationship between church and state and asks guests to consider the consequences of using fear as a tool to accumulate power. When wealthy political and religious leaders use each other’s secrets to fight for control and destroy each other, the poor are left to suffer in the fallout. The villagers pleading for justice for their dead children are often little more than pawns, used in an attempt to remove the Countess from power.

Unfortunately, the ideas here aren’t always fleshed out as well as they could be. Part of the problem is that Bloody Bathory can’t quite juggle its ambitious seventeen tracks in a way that allows each guest to experience a full story. While multi-track experiences will always result in some guests learning information that others won’t, for it to work, it is important that each track feels fulfilling and comprehensible on its own. Here, I often felt lost and confused about characters and moments that were clearly intended to be important. Going back for a second time almost feels necessary to understanding some of the basic plot points.

The performances were a bit of a mixed bag as well. Some performances, such as William Delforge’s portrayal of the mischievous villager Kalmar, strayed into some campy territory that, while entertaining, felt out of place in the context of some otherwise intense moments. The show’s tone is pretty dark and doesn’t lend itself to silly jokes being made as two characters witness a girl writhing on the floor, screaming in agony. Moments like this temporarily took me out of the experience, but, fortunately, other performances immersed me all over again. August Stamper’s emotional performance as a servant girl fighting for her survival and Kayla Cole as Mira, an angry ghost with a horrifying past, left me hanging on their every word and gesture.

My time with Mira proved to be the most memorable and intimate moments of the entire evening; she led me through the dark halls and basements of the beautiful church. Although the majority of the characters left me feeling like an invisible fly on the wall, Mira interacted with me and involved me in the world. I loved being a ghost with her, playfully slamming chairs and sliding them across the banquet hall, much to the horror of a very frightened priest. I left this scene with a smile on my face, wishing that there had been more interactive moments like this sprinkled throughout the story.

Bloody Bathory is an ambitious project and one that I’m glad to have experienced. I’m always excited to hear about a new immersive production in Chicago and hope more companies are willing to try something new. Still, for every moment of fun and intrigue I had, there was another, more frustrating moment that left the whole production feeling a bit disappointing. Perhaps with some added interactivity and a more streamlined approach to storytelling, Bloody Bathory could do proper justice to the fascinating historical accounts from which it draws and show that Chicago is ready for a new wave of immersive theater.

Find out more about The Barrens Theatre Co. on their website, Instagram, or Facebook page. Purchase tickets to Bloody Bathory – running now until November 9th – HERE. Make sure to subscribe to our Event Calendar for more immersive experiences throughout the year.

Photography by Les Rorick.

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